Euronews

A loophole in the law means the strictly-religious country performs more sex-change operations than any other, except Thailand.

Ten years ago, Tarane was known as Amir. That was before she met a woman in a café who had undergone sex change surgery.

“When I left the cafe, I was no longer Amir,” she says, “I realised what my dreams were all about. I felt like I had finally been freed from my shackles.”

In Iran, same-sex relationships are punishable by death. But there is no law against sex-change operations in the Koran – and the procedure has flourished.

Grand Ayatollah Yousef Saanei says it is a case of what is not expressly forbidden is allowed:“In Islam, there is a principle which says that everything is allowed unless there are strong arguments against it or a law forbidding it.”

“I have never felt any regret, but without the support from my friends, I would not have managed the first year” says Tarane. “My mother only called the hospital once, to find out if I had woken up from the anaesthetic, nothing more.”

Human rights groups are critical, however. They say people should not be forced to change sex to survive.